Clutch.



P. l. SCHARBACH.

i cLuTcH. APPLICATION FILED AUGJ I9Il.

,206,922. Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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ma/JM [N VEN TOR P, l. SCHARBACH.

CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.5. 191|.

'1 ,$306,922. Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

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PETER J'. SCI-IARBACH, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CLUTCH.

Original application led February 9, 1910, Serial N o. 542,918.

Serial No. 642,546.

To @ZZ whomz't may concern Be it known thatI, PETER J. SGHARBACH, acitizen ofthe United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county ofSan Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Clutches; and I do hereby declare the followingtobe a `full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it apper- -of the change speedgears, while the engine isrunning at a high, or any other rate of speed.

Further objects will become apparent fromthe following description.

The invention consists of the features of construction, including theirarrangement, substantially as hereinafter fully described, andillustrated in the accompanying drawingsfand defined in the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying| drawings Figure l is aplan, view of the inventionpartly in section. Fig. 2 is aidetail in elevation of the Vclutchmechanisnn Fig. 3 is a side view -partly in section ofthe operatinglever.

Fig. 4 is afront view ofthe same. Fig. 5 is aV pla-nview of the slottedguide plate for the operating lever. F ig. 6 is a detail of the clutchlever.

In theaccompanying drawings-A designates av drive shaft and B a drivenshaft. The shaft A is mounted in suitable bearings and is drivenin anydesired manner from a suitable source of power, but is usually connecteddirect to the crank shaft of an engine, notfnecessary to be shown.Splined on this drive shaftl A to turn therewith, and arranged atconvenient `distances apart, are two sleeves 2 and, each of which isconicallyrtapered at Iboth ends. Each sleeve is adapted to bereciprocated longitudinally Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Divided and this application filed August 5,

and independently on the splincil portion of vthe drive shaft A bysuitable means, as a clutch collar 4 fixed to respective rock-shafts5-5, in the well known manner common to clutch operations, therockshafts 5--5 being actuated as will be later described.

Adjacent to each end of cach of the couical sleeves 2 3 are collarsI .3which are keyed to and revoluble with the drive shaft A. Each of thecollars o' is provided with a laterally extending disk 7 on whichradially movable friction band slices 8 are carried. These frictionshoes S are constructed in the form of quadrants, as shown in Fig. 2,four of which are mounted on each disk 7 in the following manner: Eachquadrant friction shoe S is provided with an extended vertical radialportion or plate 9, which is dove' tailed into a corresponding radialslot 10 formed in the disk 7 and adapted to be rcciprocated therein bymeans of a lever 11 pivoted at 12 to the collar (i, rnd having one endengaging a recess in the lower end of the plate 9; the opposite end ofeach lever extending over the conical portion of a slidable sleeve 3 or2) adiaceut thereto. A tensionspiral spring 13 is so disposed betweeneach lever 11 and. disk as to normally retain each plate 9 and frictionshoe 8 in the outermost position, shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

A V-rib 1.1 is formed on the inner side of cachfriction shoe S, and isadapted to enter a corresponding continuous V-groove 15 formed in theperiphery of a loose drum or friction clutch member 1G, on shaft A, soas to grip the latter, when the friction shoes 8 are contracted, aslater described. A drum 16 is provided for each set of friction shoes 8,in this case,cfour in number, and each drum 1G is formed with a gearwheel as 17, 1S, 19 and 20, which latter are loosely mounted on thedrive shaft A so that as the latter isy rotated the gears 17, 1S, 19 and20 will remain stationary when the friction shoes S are out of Contactwith the drums 16. Gear 20 is the high speed gear, gear 19 theintermediate, gear 18the slow, and gear 17 the reverse.

A driven shaftv .B is ldisposed in parallel relation to the drive shaftA and has four gears 21, 22, 23, 24, loosely mounted thereon, each oflwhich is in constant mesh with a correspondinggear 17, 18, 19, 2O on the`shafty A. Eachjgear 21, 22, 23, 241 on the shaft B is provided with adrum 16 in a like manner as the gears on the shaft A, and each drum isadapted to be clutched by friction shoes 8 througn the action of levers11, and conical sleeves 2", 3 on shaft B, in the same manner asdescribed in reference to like parts on the drive shaft A.

.The rock shaft 5 extends transversely above the sleeves 3, 3 and isadapted to actuate this pair of sleeves simultaneously and in unison,and the rock-shaft 5 is arranged in relation to the sleeves 2, 2 in thesame manner.

The mechanism for operating the rockshafts 5, 5 is constructed asfollows Cranks 25 on the outer ends of the shaft 5 are connected withcranks 26 on a shaft 27 by 'links 28. Similar cranks 29 on the shaft 5are connected by links 30 to cranks 31 0 on a tube 32 which is revolublymounted on the shaft 27, slots being formed in the tube 32 through whichthe cranks 26 on the shaft 27 extend, the length of said slots beingsuch as to permit either the shaft 27 or the tube 32 to be rotated alimited distance independently of the other.

One end of the tube 32 is provided with a collar 33, Fig. 3, having avertically dis posed groove or slot 34 formed on the outer side thereof.The end of the shaft 27 eX- tendsa suitable distance beyond the end ofthe tube 32 and hason its outer end a like fixed Hange 35 which isslotted at 36 on its inner side opposite the slot 34 on the flange Theslots 34 and 36 are designed to receive the respective lugs 37 and 37 onop- Vposite sides of a hand-lever 38, which is forked on the lower endto straddle the shaft 27 and extendsbetween the flanges 33 and 35, andis adapted to `be rocked back or forth on its bearing 39 in such manneras to engage the lug 37 with the flange 33, or the lug/ 37 with theiange 35 whereby either the tube 32 or shaft 27 is rotated, as laterdescribed.

rlhe bearing 39 for the operating lever 38 consists of an elongatedsocket in which a ball or spherical member 40 on the lever 38 ismounted, the bearing 39 being slotted on its upper and lower sides soasto permit the lever 38 to be rocked back and forth or from side te side.The upper end of the lever 38 extends through a guide plate 41, which isprovided with two parallel longitudinally disposed slots 42, 43 theseslots being connected at their center by a transverse slot 44, in suchmanner that the lever 38 may be directed into either of the guide slots42 or` 43.

The'gearing and clutch mechanism may be inclosed in any suitable casing,such as represented at 46.

The operation of the invention isl as follows z-Assuming the parts to bein the po- Isitions shown in Fig. 1, and the hand lever 38 standing in avertical position, as shown in Fig. 4, extending through the slot 44 inthe guide plate 41; the drive shaft A is free to revolve withoutaffecting either of the gears 17, 18, 19, 20, or the countenshaft B,which latter may be connected to the running gear of a vehicle or othermachinery'in any suitable manner. l/Vith the lparts in this position,the sleeves 6, with the shoes 8, and cones 2 and 3 revolve with shaft A,and the gears are stationary. Now, if it be desired to transmit powerfrom the shaft A to theshaft B, on the slow speed transmission, forexample, the operator throws the lever 38 sidewise into the slot 43 ofthe guide plate 41, which action causes the lug 37 onthe lever 38 toengage the slot 34 in the flange 33 on the tube 32, and removes the lug37 clear out of engagement with the slot 36 on the sleeve 35. The lever38 then being moved forward in the slot 43 in the direction of thearrow, Fig. 4, the tube 32 will be caused to rotate in such manner as torock the shaft 5 through the link 30 and cranks 29 and 31, so as toslide the conical sleeves 2 and 2 simultaneously in the directien of thearrows, Fig. 1. As the conical or tapered portion of the sleeves 2 and 2are moved forward, the outer ends of the levers 11, corresponding tosaid cones, are forced outward so as to contract the friction shoes 8,in opposition to the springs 13, and clamp them in frictional engagementwith the drums 16 and 16 respectively on the gears 18 and 22, therebyconnecting the geary 18 to the shaft A and the gear 22 to the shaft Bthrough the clutch mechanism so as to drive the shaft B in a directionopposite that of shaft A. lf it is desired to reverse the direction ofthe shaft B, the lever'38 is v moved to the opposite end of the slot 43,so as to turn the tube 32 in the reverse direction and throw the conicalsleeves 2 and 2 in a direction opposite that just described to clutchthe gears .1.7 and 21 to their respective shafts. An idle gear 45 beinginterposed between the gears 17 and 21, causes the latter to be rotatedin a direction opposite that of the gear 17 on the shaft A. The highspeed is transmitted to the shaftA B from the shaft A through the gears20 and 24, and an intermediate speed is given the shaft B through thegears 18 and 20. In order to throw in the high speed gears, the lever 38is carried into the slot 42 through the slot 44, in such manner as toengage the lug 37 with the notch 36 in the disk 35 on the shaft 27, andmove in such direction asto actuate the rock shaft 5 through thecranks26 and 25 and the link 28, thereby throwing the clutch mechanism beforedescribed into engagement with the drums 16 on the gears 20 and 24.V Bymoving the -lever 38 into the opposite end of the slot 42, the clutchmechanism will be caused to engage the drums 16 on the gears 19 and 23.Thus, the tube shaft 32 controls the low speed and reverse, and shaft 27controls the high and intermediate speeds.

From the foregoing it is apparent that but one set of gears can beAthrown into engagement with the shafts A and B at the same time, as itis necessary to throw out the clutch mechanism on one set before anotherset can be operated. Each set of gears being always in mesh, there is nosliding or clash in changing from one speed to another', and, as allgears are loose on the shafts A and B only the set in operation will beat work, thus leaving the shaft free to rotate, as in a bearing, in theidle gears.

In cases of emergency the reverse gears may be employed as a brake toretard the forward movement of the machine, which is accomplished byapplying the friction clutches on this set of gears slowly and allowingthem to slip, thereby retarding the speed of the counter-shaft B.

It will also be noted that the clutch mechanism described may beinstantly thrown in or out of driving connection, which is sometimesimperative in order to prevent accidents.

The clutching and unclutching operations may be performed instantly,substantially noiselessly, and with safety to the occupants of a vehicleand to the parts of the mechanism while the driving shaft is running athigh speed, and the reverse gear may also serve the purposes of a brakebv slowly engaging the clutch and permitting the parts to slip.

I claim l. A clutch mechanism, including a rotary member, ashaft-carried sleeve having a disk or annular member, a shoe slidableupon said annular member and having an angular flange frictionallyengaging the outer periphery of said rotary member for transmittingmotion, a conical member applied to and rotatable with the shaftcarrying said sleeve, and a resiliently-controlled lever fulcrumed uponsaid sleeve, said lever controlling said shoe and itself controlled bysaid conical member.

2. A clutch mechanism, including a rotary member, a shaft-carried sleevehaving an annular member, a shoe adapted to extend beyond the peripheryof said annular member and provided with an angular flange adapted tofrictionally engage the outer periphery of the rotary member, said shoehaving a slidable connection with said annular member, a conical memberactuated by the shaft carrying said sleeve, and a resiliently controlledlever' fulcrumed upon a part of said sleeve nearest to said conicalmember, said lever controlling said shoe and having one end engagingsaid conical member.

3. A clutch mechanism, including a rotary member having a V-shapedgroove in its outer periphery, a shaft-carried sleeve having an annularmember, a shoe having a peripheral flange equipped with a correspondingrib arranged to be received within said groove to serve as a guideagainst the lateral displacement of the shoe with relation to the rotarymember, a conical member actuated by the shaft carrying said sleeve, anda resiliently-controlled lever fulcrumed upon said sleeve, said leverhaving connection with said slidable shoe at one end and engagement withsaid conical member at its other end.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

PETER J. SCHARBACI-I.

Witnesses: S. F. Bo'r'roMFInLD, G. J. MANNGMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

